On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, yesterday led the Saudi delegation to the extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held at Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Accompanying Prince Abdullah were Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Tweijri, Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsi, Minister of State and cabinet minister Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, and a number of other senior Saudi officials.

Before leaving Islamabad today, Crown Prince Abdullah received Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom he exchanged cordial talks and discussed bilateral relations. On his departure, he said the visit had provided him with the opportunity to meet not only the heads of the Islamic delegations attending the summit, but the Pakistani leadership, and share with them and with the Pakistani people the joy of the fiftieth celebration of their national day.

On his arrival on Saturday, Crown Prince Abdullah had conveyed to President Farooq Ahmed Khan Lighari and the people of Pakistan, the appreciation and affection of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Saudi people. He went on to discuss the fact that Islam prohibits belief in any other than God, a principle that confirms basing our treatment of others on humanity, and recited from the Holy Qur’an and the sunnah (traditions) of the Prophet to support this. He also urged justice and fear of God when dealing with any problem. Declaring: “We have come here carrying the concerns of Jerusalem and the sufferings of the Palestinian people from grievous attempts at oppression”, Crown Prince Abdullah recalled all past denunciations from international organizations of the various actions and measures taken to deprive the Palestinians of their inalienable rights. Raising the question of the Israeli position that pays little attention to its critics worldwide, he asked: “Why is there such intransigence and arrogance?”

In his address to the OIC summit yesterday on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah reiterated the importance of Islamic solidarity, saying that by closing their ranks Muslims will constitute an influential and powerful bloc which cannot be ignored or overlooked. Quoting the Holy Qur’an, he said: “And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God stretches out to you, and be not divided amongst yourselves, and remember with gratitude God’s favors to you, for you were enemies and he joined your hearts in love”. He went on to note the summit’s concern to realize peace, and again quoted the Holy Qur’an, saying: “But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust in God, for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things.” As for the problem of Jerusalem, Prince Abdullah deplored the practices of the Israeli government and pointed out that what Israel has done is condemned by organizations and states worldwide.

The summit was also addressed by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat of the Arab group, Turkish President Suleiman Demirel of the Asian group, and Gambian President Colonel Yahya Jama of the African group, as well as by Moroccan Prime Minister Dr. Abdullatif Al-Filali, on behalf of current OIC chairman King Hassan of Morocco.

In its communiqué, the one-day extraordinary Islamic summit called for Muslims to close ranks and mobilize all available resources in the service of the Islamic world. Underlining the importance of projecting the message of Islam at the international level, the communiqué stated that Islam is a religion of tolerance, justice, understanding, moderation and respect for human rights and human dignity, and that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will never be realized without the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the security council, adding: “Jerusalem is an indivisible part of the Palestinian territories which have been occupied since 1967. The international community should shoulder responsibility and force Israel to comply with the UN resolutions pertaining to Jerusalem and to put an end to all practices that aim at its judaization.” The communiqué reiterated the determination of all Muslim countries to honor their commitments stipulated in the Makkah Declaration and in earlier statements by OIC summits, and called for enhancing the pillars of Islamic solidarity and cooperation among Muslim countries in line with the OIC’s principles and conventions. It also called for cooperation among all nations on the basis of equality, justice and law, and reiterated the determination of all Muslim nations to promote cooperation in all spheres.

Concerning the Middle East, the communiqué said a just and comprehensive peace would never be realized without implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, and 425, together with the principle of land-for-peace, in a manner that paves the way for the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories including Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as well as southern Lebanon. The communiqué called on Israel to respect the agreements it had earlier signed, and to resume talks on the Syrian track. It also underlined the importance of enabling the Palestinians to obtain their inalienable rights including that of establishing an independent state on their homeland with Jerusalem as its capital.

Concerning Kashmir, the communiqué drew attention to the rights of the Kashmiri people including their right to self-determination in line with UN resolutions, with constructive dialogue essential for the settlement of their problem, which constitutes a major cause for escalation of tension between Pakistan and India, and reiterated support for the efforts of the Pakistani government to reach a just and peaceful settlement of the dispute, urging the Indian government to respond positively to this.

Concerning Afghanistan, the communiqué underscored the importance of preserving its unity and sovereignty as well as its Islamic entity, and urged no interference in its internal affairs and especially no provision of weapons to the conflicting factions.

Concerning Bosnia-Herzegovina, the communiqué reiterated the importance of preserving its unity in line with the Dayton Accord, and of providing the Bosnian government with the required assistance to enable it to implement this agreement.

Concerning Albania, the communiqué called for the preservation of its independence, sovereignty and safety, and for providing it with economic and humanitarian assistance.

Deploring the aggression launched against Azerbeijan, the communiqué called for restoration of its occupied territories.

The communiqué also reiterated solidarity with the Turkish Cypriots and the protection of their legitimate rights.

The communiqué reiterated the right of all countries to defend their national security, sovereignty, and regional safety, and the right to self-determination of all nations under the yoke of colonization, foreign hegemony or occupation, including that to work for the liberation of their occupied territories and reach a peaceful settlement within the framework of the United Nations.

The communiqué called for cooperation and coordination to uproot the phenomenon of terrorism, which runs counter to the teachings of Islam, but differentiated between terrorism and the struggle of nations to liberate their territories from foreign occupation.

The communiqué called for cooperation in the areas of technology and science through mobilization of the available human and natural resources for the establishment of Islamic institutions of higher education in the Muslim world, in addition to exchange of technical expertise. It also called for activation of cooperation among Muslim countries through OIC’s three standing committees for economic and commercial cooperation, for scientific and technological cooperation, and for information and cultural affairs. Finally, the communiqué called for cooperation with the international community for realization of a world free from nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and for efforts towards reaching solutions to current problems so as to enhance the pillars of global peace, security and stability.